[morticaixavier]

I find that when I brew my robust porter, my efficiency is actually slightly higher than my average.  I don't do water adjustments (I've tried PH 5.2 Stabilizer but it doesn't work with my N. Illinois water) and I've just started using a smidgen of freshly ground coffee beans to my mash which has a pH of less than 5.  The coffee may be the reason why I get a better efficiency with my porter.

this likely points to higher than optimal mash pH in the normal course of things. the dark grain and the coffee lower the pH of your mash into acceptable ranges.

[tress]

I find that when I brew my robust porter, my efficiency is actually slightly higher than my average.  I don't do water adjustments (I've tried PH 5.2 Stabilizer but it doesn't work with my N. Illinois water) and I've just started using a smidgen of freshly ground coffee beans to my mash which has a pH of less than 5.  The coffee may be the reason why I get a better efficiency with my porter.

this likely points to higher than optimal mash pH in the normal course of things. the dark grain and the coffee lower the pH of your mash into acceptable ranges.

You are right.  With my other brews, I don't seem to be able to get my mash pH lower than 5.6.

[Iliff Ave]

My efficiency was very bad but the sample tasted great. I feel like it is going to have the perfect roast quality for what I like.

My efficiency has slowly been declining over the past few months which i don't understand. I was getting around 70% and now I seem lucky to hit 65%

[dixonmike20]

My efficiency was very bad but the sample tasted great. I feel like it is going to have the perfect roast quality for what I like.

My efficiency has slowly been declining over the past few months which i don't understand. I was getting around 70% and now I seem lucky to hit 65%

Do you carbon filter your water? I experienced this a few years ago and changed the filter and it went back up....must have been that damned chlorine. Although now I use RO water and build a profile because my water is really hard.

With that being said...over the years, I've  learned efficiency isn't that important to me. I've learned to focus my efforts elsewhere, which really took my beer to the level I want. Good water, good Sanitization, and healthy yeast (pitch rate, temp, and oxygenation) ...and patience make great beer.

If you have these nailed down, you can play around all you want with water chemistry, mash temps, new yeast or hops and be confident in the outcome.

[Iliff Ave]

I have not addressed water due to laziness mainly. That will be my next step at some point soon hopefully. The water report that I got back seemed to be missing many important components including pH.

Most of my beers have been coming out good for my tastes but I can rarely predict accurate OGs when doing a new recipe. That is the main issue I have with my efficiency. There are only a few recipes that I brew regularly and those seem to be repeatable.

[dixonmike20]

If you really want to know your water profile, send a sample in to ward labs. Or, you can build from RO water.

It's always possible that pH could be affecting it. Knowing where to start and tweeting works. Or, you could always up your grain amount to hit your target.

[morticaixavier]

I've never heard that chlorine has any effect in the mash. the concern with chlorine is phenols in the finished beer as the yeast metabolize the chlorine/chloramine into chlorophenols.

[mabrungard]

I've never heard that chlorine has any effect in the mash. the concern with chlorine is phenols in the finished beer as the yeast metabolize the chlorine/chloramine into chlorophenols.

No, chlorophenol production is a reaction not a metabolite. There are plenty of phenols in wort and beer that can easily be reacted into chlorophenols if there is a reactive form of chlorine present. An important aspect of this contaminant is that its flavor threshold is really low...just a few ppb. At that level, the phenol precursors needed to conduct the reaction are well below their flavor threshold and we don't notice them in the wort or beer. Since chlorinated water often has somewhere in the 1 to 3 ppm level, a similar level of chlorophenol can be created and that is hundreds or thousands of times higher than needed to detect in flavor.

The chlorophenol reaction can take place in the tun, the kettle, fermenter, or even in the glass. Anytime that reactive chlorine is added to beer or wort, the chlorophenol reaction will instantly take place.

PS: the chloride ion is a non-reactive form of chlorine and does not produce chlorophenol. 

[morticaixavier]

thanks for the correction martin.

Am I correct in saying that it should have no effect on mash performance though?

[mabrungard]

Am I correct in saying that it should have no effect on mash performance though?

You are correct.

[pete b]

How's your water? Roasted grains can lower your mash pH. I'm wondering if it's getting low enough to affect conversion for you.

Would steeping the darker grains in a bag in the wort or adding at lautering solve this?

[erockrph]

How's your water? Roasted grains can lower your mash pH. I'm wondering if it's getting low enough to affect conversion for you.

Would steeping the darker grains in a bag in the wort or adding at lautering solve this?

If this is indeed the case, then it should at least help with the conversion issue. You'd still likely end up with a low final pH in your beer, though, and that may have flavor consequences.

[Iliff Ave]

So I would like to start addressing my water. I need to get the home brewer's test kit from Ward Labs as the first step correct?

[denny]

So I would like to start addressing my water. I need to get the home brewer's test kit from Ward Labs as the first step correct?

The homebrewers test from Ward gives you info you don't really need at a higher price.  Test W-6 is perfect for homebrewers and much less expensive.

[Iliff Ave]

So I would like to start addressing my water. I need to get the home brewer's test kit from Ward Labs as the first step correct?

The homebrewers test from Ward gives you info you don't really need at a higher price.  Test W-6 is perfect for homebrewers and much less expensive.

Thanks Denny!